


Phone calls

by Anarik



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alive Mary Winchester, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, But then they're boyfriends too, Caring John Winchester, Castiel and Dean Winchester are Cute, Charlie Bradbury is a Winchester, Charlie Dean and Sam are siblings, College, Coming Out, Dean and Cas are friends, Fluff, Good Parent John Winchester, Good Parent Mary Winchester, He doesn't even know the guy, High School, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, John being a good father, John doesn't know what changed, M/M, Mary Lives, Protective Dean Winchester, he's a good parent here, not even sarcasm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 00:49:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14249484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anarik/pseuds/Anarik
Summary: Five times John listened Dean talking over the phone with some “Cas” person, and one time Dean actually brought him home.





	Phone calls

**Author's Note:**

> Supernatural does not belong to me. I wish. 
> 
> If you see any mistake or typo, please tell me so I can edit it.

**I**

John is woken up by a nightmare. The same nightmare he always has.

It always starts with him, still in the Marine, making his way through a trenched path, only to find that his entire unit is dead. He’s been having that nightmare since he heard about what happened to one of the fellow units. Only one guy lived to tell the tale and later on he committed suicide. After those events, the scenery always transforms to Mary, his wife, on the ceiling, bleeding out and the house catching fire out of nowhere. It’s obviously created by some crappy scary movie they watched together, and a crazy man who thought he could light up his house without repercussions.

Mary hums by his side, opening her eyes a little bit.

“Another nightmare?” she asks, placing her hand on his hair, stroking it slowly.

“Yeah… I’m going to wash my face and drink some water. I’ll be back.”

“Ok…” she turns around and she’s fast asleep again.

John goes to the adjoined bathroom first, washes his face and looks at himself in the mirror. He looks tired, even though he hasn’t had bags under his eyes for a long time now. The nightmare has been more recurrent these days, reminding him to honor all of his fallen comrades in war. He looks at the ceiling and then at his reflection again. He sighs and exits the bathroom, checking the time before opening the door. It’s past 1 a.m., he’s only had three hours of sleep. He needs to go to bed again.

When he opens the door, the first thing that fills the silent, dark hallway is a laugh. John frowns and starts walking, noticing that his older son’s door is a little bit open, but it’s dark inside, nonetheless.

“Yeah, I know.” John hears Dean’s voice, it’s hushed and whispering. “Dude, I know. Classes start at 10 tomorrow, Cas, stop worrying so much.”

“Cas?” John mouths, frowning. Dean hasn’t mentioned any ‘Cas’ around the house.

“Yes, I’ll be going to our study sessions. Hey! I said I’m sorry for skipping, ok!?” Dean’s voice was a little louder this time and it startled John a little bit. But it’s not like he’s ever going to accept it out loud.

_Oh, so he’s been tutored._

“I didn’t? Huh. Well, I’m sorry for skipping, Cas. Yes, I’ve been reading the book you told me. I still don’t get it. A web-series? Who would have thought, you _do_ know how to use the internet,” he can hear the smirk in Dean’s voice and John rolls his eyes.

 _When I come back from my water glass, if Dean hasn’t hung up, I’ll tell him to_.

John keeps walking down the hall, walks down the stairs and takes a glass out of the counter when he reaches the kitchen. Mary always makes sure there’s water on the fridge because the cold makes things feel real, and she knows how important is for him to feel that he’s not in the nightmare anymore. He walks up the stairs again and stops by Dean’s room, still talking in hushed tones.

“Oh, my god, Cas. Fine, let’s sleep.” Dean chuckles a little bit and he hears some bed rustling. “Yes, yes. Sure, see you tomorrow. Night, Cas.”

There’s no more sound after that and John sighs relieved. He goes back to his room to find that Mary has taken most of the bed.

“Hey, Mary…” he whispers. “Make some space,” she mumbles something unintelligible and he denies with his head as he smiles.

She moves a little bit, only letting enough space for him to lay on his side, he wraps an arm around her waist and closes his eyes, relaxing his breathing to match Mary’s.

**II**

The first thing John hears when he goes through his front door is Charlie yelling.

“You’re so selfish, I hate you!”

“Charlie!” Mary reprimands.

“What’s happening here?” he asks, getting out of his coat.

“Charlie is being a baby because I won’t take her to a party,” Dean explains while mocking her.

_Jesus, and he’s supposed to be the oldest._

“Are we sure he’s seventeen?” John asks Mary, silently.

“According to his birth certificate, yes.” She answers, chuckling.”

John sighs, looks at his two kids arguing while Sam is nowhere to be seen.

“Where is Sam?”

“He’s upstairs. He flew when he saw the drama coming. I should have done the same.”

“Ok, Dean, Charlie!” he raises his voice and both of them go quiet, still fuming and glaring, but quiet. “Charlie, you’re only thirteen. You’re too young to be going to parties.”

“But, dad! Dean always gets to do the cool stuff!” she muffles her cheeks and crosses her arms.

“That’s because I’m older,” Dean answers before him.

“Yes. Besides, Dean is in senior year now, you’re still in middle school. When you’re his age, then you can go to parties.”

“It’s not fair!”

“I know, sweetie,” Mary says, giving her a hug. “But sometimes you just have to be a little older in order to do the cool stuff.” Mary gets up and looks at him with a glee in her eye that says that he’s so not going to like what’s coming next. “We can all play Monopoly while Dean is gone. You, Sam, your dad and me!”

“Yay! I love Monopoly!”

Dean looks at him with pity and John sighs. “Don’t you have a party to get ready to?”

“Yes!”

“Dean. I want you home by 3 a.m.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And remember what that comedy show your mother was watching taught us.”

“Nothing good happens after 2 a.m., I know.”

Dean runs up the stares and soon after he hears the shower running. He sits down to eat dinner while Mary and Charlie convince Sam to play with them.

_At least I won’t be alone in that godawful game._

He cleans up the dishes and goes upstairs to take a shower too, when he hears Dean pacing in his room.

“Come on, Cas!” Dean says. “We’re in senior year now and you haven’t go to a party! Like ever! You _need_ to come!”

John leans his body on the wall beside Dean’s open door, he can hear him putting his shoes on.

“No, come on! It’ll be fun! There’s gonna be tons of alcohol and… Yes, I am well aware I’m still a minor, Cas, no need to remind me. But it’s a party, obviously there’s gonna be tons of booze. And every single person from our class is gonna be there. You _have_ to come.”

John can hear that tone. The tone that always comes with the puppy eyes and the pout. Dean has been able to put that face on Mary and him both since they were able to understand what a crying baby meant. He even taught that face to Sam, and to Charlie when she came along. John is so sure the other person is going to crack. John frowns.

 _‘Till this day and I don’t know if Cas is a boy or a girl_.

“No, not only popular guys are coming. And you know _me_! You need to man up, buddy… Castiel, if you’re not at the party when I get there, I am _so_ going to your house and dragging you with me. I don’t care if you’re wearing bee boxers or sweatpants… Awesome, dude! I’ll be getting there in fifteen… Then I’ll just have to go and pick you up.”

_So, a boy. Castiel is an interesting name…_

“Hey, dad.”

“Uh, hey.” John answers, looking at Dean, who’s out of his room and looking at him with suspicion eyes. “I was going to ask you if you need money for gas or something.”

 _Good save_.

“No, it’s alright. Thanks, though. I’ll be going now.”

“Have fun!” Mary says, getting out of Sam’s room with a defeated 13-year-old boy.

**III**

“Knock some sense in your son!” Mary says, walking down the stairs.

“What is it, now?” he asks, closing his eyes and rubbing his face with his hands.

“Dean doesn’t want to go to college!” she says, throwing her hands in the air.

“What?” he frowns, looks at the ceiling, picturing Dean’s room, and then looks at his wife again. “Did he tell you why?”

“He didn’t tell me, he just said that he wasn’t going and that I should not insist. Talk to him, John.”

John sighs, gets up from the couch, game long forgotten, and goes to Dean’s room. The door is closed, for once, but there’s a muffling sound coming from inside, like someone talking. John knocks the door three times and opens it, hearing Dean’s hurried _I’ll call you later_.

“What’s up, dad?” Dean says casually, sitting on his bed. John walks in and closes the door.

“Your mother tells me you don’t want to go to college? Care to explain why?”

“I just don’t want to. I want to stay here and help with the garage.”

“Are you sure, Dean?”

“Yes. Why wouldn’t I?” Dean looks uncomfortable, John notices. He’s playing his phone on his hands and looking around too much.

John sighs, sits beside him and puts one hand on his shoulder. “Dean, you can go to college if you want to, it’s ok. You know that, right?”

“Yes, dad. I know,” the tone he uses is exasperated and John wants to smack him for it.

“And you know that your mother and I will support whatever career path you choose, right?”

“Yes…” he sounds small now, like he didn’t actually contemplate that they would agree. “But, dad, what about Sam, and Charlie?”

“What about them?” he asks confused.

“Would there be enough money for the three of us? You know that Sam wants to go into law school, and Charlie is a computer genius, and even for 14-year-olds, that’s pretty ahead. I only know how to change some parts in a car. They’re geniuses, dad. They deserve to go to college.”

“And you say you don’t?” Dean doesn’t answer and John sighs. “Dean, just because you think your brother and sister have their futures planned out early on, doesn’t mean you can’t have a future for yourself. You’re good at a lot other stuff, stuff they don’t know how to handle. And you can always apply for scholarships, son.”

“Yeah, I guess so…”

“Do you know what you want to study?”

“I guess. I mean, I like folklore and mythology…”

“There you go. Now you only have to look for colleges that offer degrees on that.”

“Thanks, dad.” Dean murmurs, and John smiles at him, wrapping his arms around him.

He stands up and while walking to the door he hears Dean typing something on his phone. He opens the door and gets out.

“Hey, Cas?” Dean says, and John almost stops before closing. He doesn’t close the door completely. “Hey. Yeah, buddy. It was my dad, sorry I hung up on you like that. You still have those college flyers? Yeah, no. I changed my mind. You think you can help me get into a scholarship?...  Awesome, dude! You’re the best.”

John closes the door quietly and goes downstairs with a smile.

**IV**

Dean and John and sitting on the couch, watching the game and nursing some beers. Dean is back from his third year at college and he’s looking rather anxious as the minutes go by. And John is pretty sure it has nothing to do with the game. Today it’s not that interesting.

“Hey, dad?” Dean asks, and John blinks at him, letting him know he’s listening. “I need to tell you something important.”

“What is it, son?” he asks, looking directly at him as he watches Dean’s chest rise and fall with an alarming rhythm.

“... I’m gay.” Dean closes his eyes hard and John frowns. Did his kid think he was going to hit him?

“Same rules apply, though. No boys in your room.” John answers, turning his head back to the game and Dean looks at him surprised.

“That’s it?”

“Yes. Let’s go back to the game, son. Your mother will be back soon, and you know how she gets when she does grocery shopping with your brother”

Dean shudders but he laughs too, brightly and John thinks that maybe his son was nervous about it this whole time and that’s why he was considering he wasn’t able to be happy. Mary does come with a lot of groceries, asking – making – Dean and John for help when there aren’t enough hands to load the bags out of the car. They sigh together and help her, stealing some chocolate they found and going back to the game.

Later that night, when John is heading to his room to sleep, after making sure everything is closed twice, curtains covering their windows and lights off, he finds himself lingering at the thought of Dean being afraid to tell him he liked men. Dean’s light is still on, and John hears his phone ring.

“Heya, Cas.”

 _It’s been what, five years? Six years?_ He thinks, _and we haven’t met a single Castiel_.

“No, it went fine. It went better than fine, actually.” Dean’s voice has a joyful tone and John hears the creek of Dean’s bed. “He just said that there aren’t boys allowed in my room. So, now you know, Cas. You can’t be in my room.” Dean chuckles and John can imagine his happy smile. “Hey, it’s my room too!... Yeah, I know. I’ll see you soon. Thanks for checking up on me. Yes, Cas, I’ll call you in the morning, as we always do… Yeah… I love you too.”

John almost chokes on his own saliva after that. The soft tone he used to answer the other man on the phone making him feel uncomfortable. John wants to think it was the same ‘I love you’ Dean tells Sam and Charlie every day, but he knows that he’ll be only fooling himself for even trying to think about it. The tone was so caring, so trustful, so intimate that it made him want to reprimand himself for been a 12-year-old gossip girl, sneaking behind his son’s back to listen private conversations.

He sighs defeated and walks to his room, where Mary is probably already asleep. God, he hopes she’s asleep, he can’t deal with her judging look. She would know what he was doing.

**V**

John has seen Dean stressed.

After the first time Sam fell off a tree and broke his arm. After the first time little Celeste Bradbury came to their house to play with Sam and he realized the little girl had bruises everywhere. After the first time Charlie had a panic attack because of a particular nightmare. After she fell off a tree too, soon after she started living with them. When he got into middle school and into high school. When everyone had their acceptance letters for college and his was missing from their mail. The first time he went to the dorm rooms. His midterms and finals. John has seen Dean stressed in so many ways but _this_ one? If he could, he would climb the walls and hang from the ceiling lamp.

“Honey, what is it?”

“Nothing, mom. I’m ok.”

“Dean.”

“Dad.” Mary pulls her ‘don’t try to bullshit me, young man’ face and Dean sighs defeated. “I’m just waiting for a friend to show up. The ceremony is about to begin, and he hasn’t arrived yet.”

“Do you have his number?”

“Of course, mom. I’ve tried to call him and he hasn’t answered, _and_ I went to his room and he isn’t there either. He was supposed to pick up his parents from the airport this morning, and he didn’t text me to tell me they were safe at the motel.”

“I’m sure they’re alright, Dean,” Mary says with a soothing tone. She rubs Dean’s arm with her hand but he still looks anxious.

“I’m going to go to his room again, maybe he got caught up with his…”

“Dean, you just said so yourself,” John interrupts. “The ceremony is about to begin. Let’s wait for a few more minutes, if he still isn’t here by then I’ll go to his room and check, ok?”

“I don’t know, dad…” Dean looks hesitant and he checks his phone again, walking away a few steps and dialing again. John and Mary look at each other with worried looks, and then they look at Dean, who looks relieved. “Oh, my god. Castiel, don’t ever do that to me again, you have no idea how worried I was!... Nothing to be worried about!? Cas, you said you were picking your parents and that you’d come back! I thought you had an accident!... No, the important thing is that you’re ok. Yeah. Are you near the auditorium? Good. Yeah, see you then. Stop apologizing, Cas. I’m gonna hung up, dude, you’ll never stop apologizing if I don’t. Bye.”

Dean turns around with a smile, walks to them and hugs them.

“Thank you for being here.”

“We’ll never miss your graduation, honey!” Mary says with tears in her eyes.

“Go, Dean. We’ll be here, watching you.” John says while patting Dean’s back.

“Yeah. Oh god, I’m graduating…” Dean murmurs as he trails back to the seats where the students are supposed to be sat.

John and Mary look for two empty chairs to sit and wait for the ceremony to begin. When they finally find them, they walk near each other, John watching Mary’s mouth do some funny twisting. He knows what’s coming.

“John?”

“Hmm?”

“Who’s ‘Cas’?”

“I have no idea.”

**+I**

Dean has been pacing since he woke up. They’re back at Lawrence after getting his things back from his dorm room. He just got his diploma and now he will be entering the working life of an adult with an academic title and John isn’t sure if Dean’s going to go into the teaching field or not. Anyways, there will come a time where they can worry about Dean not having a job yet. Right know it’s just time to celebrate he made it through college and has his diploma. Besides, it’s still December, he’ll have time to make his curriculum presentable. What it’s getting him through his nerves is that Dean keeps checking his phone and keeps pacing around the living room.

“Son, it’s everything alright?” Mary asks once she sees him.

“What? Yeah! Of course. Everything is fine. Totally fine. The finest of fine.” He says, checking his phone again. “Oh god…” he murmurs and then there’s someone at the door. “I’ll go open it!” Dean yells and takes off to the door. Mary looks at him with an amused but worried glee, he shrugs.

They both sit on the couch, waiting for Dean to come back.

“I’m sure it’ll be alright, Dean,” they hear a rather deep voice and then a man, a little bit shorter than Dean, enters the room with Dean beside him. He’s wearing a blue vest, a white, long sleeved shirt and khaki pants.

“Mom, dad.” Dean says, walking them both in front of John and Mary. “This is Castiel Novak.”

Something in his head clicks and he can almost hear Mary’s click too, because she looks at him for a split second and then back at the boys in front of them. Mary takes his hand and then she gets up, making him stand as a result.

“Hi, Castiel. I’m Mary Winchester, this is my husband John.”

“It’s really nice to meet you.” Castiel says, shaking both their hands.

John and Mary sit down again and Dean is still looking at them like he wants to say something else but can bring himself to do it.

“Is everything ok, Dean?” Mary asks, worried. Dean takes a deep breath.

“Cas is my fiancé.” He says quickly and everything in the room goes silent. Dean has his eyes closed and Castiel is looking at him with amazement. Mary clears her throat and laces their fingers together.

“Well… welcome to the family, Castiel.”

“Yeah.” John says, nodding, and Dean opens his eyes and looks at them like if they were crazy. “Stop looking at us like that, son. You told us you were gay two years ago, remember?”

“Well, yeah but… that’s it? Welcome to the family and just like that?”

“What else do you want us to say?” Mary asks, frown deep.

“Well… I don’t know. A little bit more of… surprise, maybe?”

“Dean,” John starts, holding back a laugh. “You aren’t exactly quiet while talking on the phone. I’ve heard bits about this Cas while walking to get a glass of water. By the way, Castiel. Thank you for tutoring my boy.”

“You’re welcome.” Cas answers, looking at him straight in the eye.

“I…” Dean murmurs and he’s blushed in shock.

“Ok! Cas, would you like to see some baby pictures?”

“Yes, please.”

Castiel sits on one of the chairs while Mary gets up to get the albums. Dean is still standing frozen when she gets back. The moment she opens the first album, right on her lap, making point of letting Castiel see the pictures of baby Dean naked in a bathtub, Dean comes back to life, embarrassed game on.

“Mom! Come on!”

“Ah, he lives.” Castiel says and Mary laughs. Dean scowls at him but sits beside him anyway. “I told you it was going to be alright.” Cas mumbles to Dean and he smiles.

John wonders if he’s ever seen his son so happy.


End file.
